Arrangement and method for constructing multispan bridges or the like



June 10, 1969 Q SUTER ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD FOR CONSTRUCTING MULTISP'ANBRIDGES 0R THE LIKE Flled March 3C, 1967 Sheet INVENTOR- BRUNO S U T E RNNE@ n nl `lune 10, 1969 B. SLJTER 3,448,511

ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD FOR CONSTRUCTING MULTTSPAN BRIDGES OR THE LIKEFiled March 5L, 1967 sheet 3 of 2 /NVENTOR' BRUNO S U TER United StatesPatent O U.S. Cl. 29-429 6 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE Arrangementand method for constructing multispan bridges across Water in successivespans from heavy prefabricated elements in which a pair of laterallyoutward longitudinally displaceable auxiliary girders, cantilevered onalready provided longitudinally spaced apart piers at the height atwhich the Ibridge is being built, serve as tracks for independentlytraveling bridge crane means situated thereon, and an independentlyremovable island platform positioned in the water ahead of the free endsof the auxiliary girders serves as support for such free ends whenisland crane means thereon draw such free ends and in turn the auxiliarygirders forward for such support and as working platform, to permit useof said bridge cranes to transport prefabricated elements forward tosaid free ends and manipulation in conjunction with said island crane ofsuch elements to assemble and `construct the next bridge span below andlaterally between said auxiliary girders, as the case may be,independently of weather, water and terrain conditions.

The present invention relates to an arrangement and method forconstructing multispan bridges or the like across water, whosesuperstructures are successively constructed with the aid of auxiliarygirders which are supported on already constructed bridge piers andwhich are movable in the longitudinal direction of the bridge, thefore-ends of the auxiliary girders forming cantilevers which are held byan auxiliary support.

In a known successive span bridge construction arrangement and method, atravelling girder, which serves to advance structure girders which carrythe formwork and the weight of the superstructure during concreting, issimultaneously used in order to construct, while working from it, thebridge piers together with their foundations. The equipment necessaryfor this is mounted on the cantilever arm of the travelling girder whichmay also be supported by an auxiliary support.

This known arrangement and procedure has the basic disadvantage thatonly relatively small lifting equipment can be used thereon since thesize of the travelling girder, even if it is supported at its free end,has limits which are determined by economic considerations. Since thebringing in of material required for constructing the subsequent pierscauses difficulties as long as the part of the superstructure lyingabove the structure girders has not been finished and hardened, theconstructional :material has to be 4brought along via the bottom of thevalley or by means of boats on the water below, in which case one isdependent on the terrain or water conditions. Furthermore it ispractically impossible to manufacture the piers and their foundationsfrom large prefabricated concrete sections since this requires veryheavy lifting equipment which both because of its great weight andbecause of its large size cannot be mounted at the front end of acantilever arm of the travelling girder.

It is the object of the present invention to avoid the foregoingdisadvantages and to provide an arrangement ice and method forconstructing multispan bridges and the like, passing over water,according to which superstructures and understructures of the bridge canbe constructed from the head of the bridge without reference to theweather conditions, terrain conditions and Water conditions.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparentfrom a study of the within specification and accompanying drawing, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic longitudinal view of a landing bridge,constructed according to one embodiment of the present invention, in thecourse of construction;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the bridge takenalong the line II-II of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the bridge takenalong the line III-III of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic View corresponding to FIG. 3, at a differentstage of construction; and

FIG. 5 shows a schematic View similar to that of FIG. 2 whichillustrates the construction of a superstructure for the bridge.

It has been found in accordance with the present invention that therequired task is solved by auxiliary girders which serve both toconstruct the superstructures and also as a track way for transportationmeans for the constructional material to be used for the superstructuresand understructures, with such auxiliary girders resting, at their endswhich face away from the constructional work, on the platform of alifting island from which the understructures can be constructed.

There is provided an arrangement for constructing multispan bridgesacross water in successive spans mainly from heavy prefabricatedelements, which comprises at least two longitudinally spaced aparttransverse crossbeams supported at the height at which the bridge is tobe built, a pair of transversely spaced apart longitudinal auxiliarygirders laterally outwardly resting on said crossbeams and spanning thelongitudinal distance therebetween, said auxiliary girders beinglongitudinally displaceable with respect to said crossbeams and having alength greater than the longitudinal distance between said crossbeams toprovide corresponding cantilever free ends of said auxiliary girderslongitudinally extending substantially beyond said crossbeams, an islandplatform independently removably positioned in the water ahead of thecorresponding free ends of said auxiliary girders at a distancecorresponding to the next span to be constructed in the forwardlongitudinal direction of construction of the bridge, island crane meansand support means disposed on said island platform, and independentlytraveling bridge crane means disposed for longitudinal travel on saidauxiliary girders, whereby said free ends of the auxiliary girders maybe drawn by said island crane means longitudinally forward to saidisland support means for resting support thereon and in turn theremainder of said auxiliary girders advanced along said crossbeams, saidbridge crane means may transport heavy prefabricated pile, pier,crossbeam, main bridge span girder and superstructure elementslongitudinally along said auxiliary girders supported by said islandsupport means for assembly below and for assembly laterally between saidauxiliary girders, as the case may be, within the range of conjunctiveoperation of said island crane means and said bridge crane means toprovide the next span unit of the bridge, and upon displacinglongitudinally said removably positioned island platform in the forwarddirection of construction of the bridge a distance corresponding to thenext span, the drawing forward of said auxiliary girders and the bridgeassembly procedure may be repeated independently of weather, water andterrain conditions.

More particularly, the crossbeams are provided with lateral brackets attheir ends which have roller mountings thereon in operative contact withsaid auxiliary girders to accommodate the longitudinal displacement ofsaid auxiliary girders with respect to said crossbeams while supportingsaid auxiliary girders thereon at a level corresponding substantially tothat of the main bridge span girders yet laterally outwardly thereof.

Preferably the island support means is in the form of a pair oflaterally spaced apart transversely displaceable island brackets havinghydraulic jack means thereon for transversely alignable correspondingoperative supporting contact with said free ends of the auxiliarygirders.

In the same way a method is provided for constructing multispan bridgesacross water in successive spans mainly from heavy prefabricatedelements, which comprises establishing at least two longitudinallyspaced apart transverse crossbeams supported at the height at which thebridge is to be built as well as a pair of transversely spaced apartlongitudinal auxiliary girders laterally outwardly resting thereon andspanning the longitudinal distance therebetween, such that saidauxiliary girders are longitudinally displaceable with respect to saidcrossbeams and have a length greater than the longitudinal distancebetween said crossbeams to provide corresponding cantilever free ends ofsaid auxiliary girders longitudinally extending substantially beyondsaid crossbeams, providing independently travelling bridge crane meansdisposed for longitudinal travel on said auxiliary girders, maintainingan island platform independently removably positioned in the water aheadof the corresponding free ends of said auxiliary girders at a distancecorresponding to the next span to be constructed in the forwardlongitudinal direction of construction of the bridge with island cranemeans and island support means disposed thereon, drawing said free endsof the auxiliary girders by said island crane means longitudinallyforward to said island support means and placing said free ends inresting support thereon while advancing in turn the remainder of saidauxiliary girders along said crossbeams, transporting by said travellingbridge crane means corresponding heavy prefabricated pile, pier,crossbeam, main bridge span girders and superstructure elmentslongitudinally along said auxiliary girders while supported by saidisland support means, sinking said pile and pier elements at theappropriate bridge span distance to form supports for a correspondingcrossbeam element and mounting a crossbeam element on said pile and pierelements with the aid of said island crane means, laying correspondingmain bridge span girder and superstructure elements laterally betweensaid auxiliary girders and at substantially the same level thereof withthe aid of said travelling bridge crane means, and repeating saiddrawing, placing, transporting, sinking, mounting and laying steps atleast one more time, whereby to construct a multispan bridge acrosswater in successive spans.

Such an arrangement and method have the advantage that the constructionof the bridge is entirely independent of water, terrain and weatherconditions. The entire material used for constructing the bridge can bebrought along from the land side, via the bridge sections which havealready been finished and thence the auxiliary girders. This hasespecially proved advantageous when constructing bridges which lead outinto the open sea like landing piers, where the supply of materials byboat is impossible in choppy or heavy seas. Moreover the use of alifting island, a constructional apparatus itself well known, has theadvantage that not only are the auxiliary girders adequately supportedat any desired height at their free projecting ends, but also the entiredevice for constructing the uderstructures can be placed on the liftingisland platform without difficulties, thus relieving the auxiliarygirders and their undersupports of such heavy equipment. The liftingisland is able to carry very heavy lifting equipment so that theunderstructure can also be constructed out of large prefabricatedconcrete sections.

When the platform is raised up on the lifting island, the latter willalso be able to withstand heavy storms and can even be moved oneffortlessly and rapidly to a safe location.

When constructing a new pier in accordance with one embodiment fo theprocedure of the present invention the lifting island is first broughtinto position in front of the end of the particular pier which is to beerected. The auxiliary girders are then advanced into the 'bridge spanwhich is limited, on the front-structure side, by the piers which are tobe erected, and are grasped at their freely projecting fore-ends bylifting equipment arranged on the lifting island and then furtheradvanced whilst supported in this manner and set down on the edge of thelifting island platform. This method of :working has the advantage thatthe auxiliary girders do not have to extend over two bridge spans. Theirlength only has to be about 1.5 times that of the bearing distancebetween supports since they can, at their freely projecting ends besupported by the lifting equipment vstationed on the lifting islandduring the last phase of advance. Depending on the radius of the liftingequipment, i.e., crane booms, this support can already become effectiveat one half or one third of the travel.

It will be realized that according to the instant invention both thesuperstructures and the understructures of the bridge are preferablymanufactured from prefabricated units, such as reinforced or prestressedconcrete, which may also be of a relatively large size, and which thusensure rapid progress of the building work.

In accordance with a particular feature of the present invention, adevice for carrying out the successive span construction includes twoauxiliary girders, carried movably and fixably appropriately on thebridge piers, along both sides of the superstructure which is to beerected, and at least one Portal crane travelling on such auxiliarygirders, this crane taking prefabricated vbuilding sections and/orbuilding materials brought along via the superstructures which havealready been nished and passing them on to the point where they are tobe incorporated into the next -successive span to be erected.

The arrangement of the auxiliary girders alongside the superstructureswhich are to be erected has the advantage that the auxiliary girders canlie at the same height or level `as the main bridge span girders of thesuperstructure. Their support is therefore particularly simpleespecially when the piers -are formed by several pillars Vwhich areconnected to one another by means of a crossbeam at the top of thepillars. By arranging the auxiliary girders laterally to thesuperstructure both the movement of main girders, consisting ofprefabricated sections made of reinforced or prestressed concrete, andthe transportation of prefabricated sections, such aas piles and pillarsfor the understructure or piers is rendered particularly simple, and thetransportation of the understructure parts does not interfere with theassembly and casting of the superstructure parts.

Referring to the drawings, and especially FIG. l, 10 denotes a landingbridge built out to sea, for ships riding at the roads, this bridgebeing subdivided in a longitudinal direction into a number of bridgespans 11, 12, 13 and 14. However, only a part of the bridge is shown inFIG. l. The bridge is built out yfrom the land in the direction of arrow15.

The spans 11, 12, 13 and 14 of the superstructure are bounded by bridgepiers 16, 17, 18 and 19, the last just going into place, which in thepresent example of an ernbodiment are each formed by two single pillars16a and 1Gb, 17a and 17b, 18a and 18b and 19a and 19b, as the case maybe, spaced apart from one another in a transverse direction, andconnected to one another at their tops ends by corresponding crossbeams16C, 17C, 18C and 19C.

The main bridge -span girders 20 of the superstructure bridging the gapsat spans 11, 12, 13 and 14 rest on the '5 crossbeams 16e, 17C, 18a` and19C. They, as well as the building supports or piers 16, 17, 18 and 19and their crossbeams 16e, 17C, 18t` and 19e, consist prefera'bly ofprefabricated parts made of prestressed concrete. The main girders 20are connected to one another by a track plate 40 (see FIG. 5) lying ontop which need not be Irepresented in more detail here.

Steel lateral brackets 35 are mounted on both end faces of eachcrossbeam 16e, 17e, l8r.` vand 19C, and on these, i.e., at both sides ofthe superstructures or maln girders 20, a corresponding steel auxiliarygirder 21 having a lbox beam section is carried on roller mountings 22so as to be movable in a longitudinal direction and iixable, i.e., attheir free or cantilever ends 23. The auxiliary girders 21 in thepresent embodiment as shown span two bridge spans 13 and 14 and at theirrear end project somewhat into span 12. At their front freely projectingor cantilever end 23 they rest, with interposition of hydraulic jacks24, on island 'brackets 25. Brackets 25 are mounted at the edge of theplatform 26 of an independently removably positioned lifting island 27so as to be sideways adjustable (see FIG. 3), the island being supportedon the bed 39 of the water by means of its supporting legs 28.

Two portal cranes 29 and 30 run on the auxiliary girders 21 which act astracks therefor. The cranes take the prefabricated sections needed forconstructing the ununderstructures and superstructures from the rollingtrucks 31 and 32 which run on the main girders 20 of the bridge (seeFIG. 2), and transport them in the longitudinal direction and also inthe transverse direction of the bridge (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The partsneeded for the understructures are taken over *by a derrick crane 33,which is anchored to the platform 26 of the lifting island. On heavingin and incorporating the prefabricated sections required for theunderstructure the derrick crane 33 is assisted by two small jib cranes34, of which only one is represented in the drawing, which can beswivelled about the supporting legs 28 of the lifting island which -facethe bridge and which stand on the platform 26 of the lifting island.

The 'bridge is constructed in the following manner:

It is assumed that the 'bridge piers 16, 17 and 18 have already beenconstructed and that at least the main girders 20 of the superstructurebridging the gaps 11 and 12 have been laid and assembled. The auxiliarygirders 21 rest on the brackets 35 of the crossbeams 16e, 17C and 18C insuch a way that the front ends 23 of the auxiliary girders 21 aresupported by appropriate brackets 35 of the crossbeam 18e.

In order to be able to start the construction of the bridge pier 19 thelifting island 27 is brought into position in front of the bridge pier19 which is to be constructed. The auxiliary girders 21 are thenadvanced into the bridge span 14 with their freely projecting fore-ends23 being supported by the load hooks of the derrick crane 33 as soon asthey have approximately reached the middle of the superstructure span14. The auxiliary girders are then further advanced, with simultaneouslifting of the jib 37 of the dern'ck crane 33, and are placed with theirfreely projecting fore-ends 23 on the 'brackets 25 of the lifting island26. Since these brackets can be moved sideways, they can be broughtprecisely llush with the auxiliary girders 21 if the lifting island isin a position which is somewhat sideways displaced relative to thelongitudinal axis of the bridge.

In the represented embodiment not only the `bridge piers but also theirbase foundations are constructed from prefabricated sections. For thispurpose bores are :made in the sea bed 39 lby means of conventionalboring equipment which need not be represented in any detail and whichis placed together with the derrick 33 on the platform 26 of the liftingisland 27. Then prefabricated piles 38 made of reinforced concrete areintroduced into these bores. These piles 38 are successively broughtalong from the land, from the beginning of the "bridge, in the directionof the arrow 15, on rolling trucks 31 and 32 travelling over the maingirders 20 of the superstructures which have already been finished,until they come to span 12. There they are taken over by the portalcranes 29 and 30 as shown on the left-hand side of FIG. 1.

The portal cranes 29 and 30 then travel on the auxiliary girders 21 intospan 14. The front end of the pile 38 is then taken by the jib cranes 34and slowly lowered whilst the derrick crane 33 takes the rear end of thepile and lifts it so that the pile can be introduced into the bore holein the seat bed 39 as soon as the pile hangs approximately vertically(right-hand half of FIG. 1). The piles 38 can then be rammed even moredeeply into the bed by means of a conventional rammer suspended from thederrick 33 but not shown in any detail here.

After introducing the piles the upper parts of pier 19 of the buildingsupports, which also consist of prefabricated sections, are broughtalong from the land in the same manner, via the bridge 10, and areassembled. Thereafter the prefabricated crossbeam 19e is brought along,lifted 4by the derrick 33, turned, placed on the tops of the supports19a and 19b and coupled with them (see FIG. 4).

During the assembling of the understructures 38, 19a, 19b and 19e, themain girders 20 for the bridge span 13 can be separately brought alongand put in place. This can also be done by means of the portal cranes 29and 30, which not only permit longitudinal transportation but alsotransportation of the main girders 20 in a transverse direction and thuspermits precise laying of the individual parts (see FIG. 5).

Naturally, where various constructional parts have been defined in termsof means in the instant specification and/or claims, such means havebeen illustrated in the accompanying drawings as specific elements, butin accordance with the present invention, such means contemplate any andall elements usable to achieve the combination arrangement of theinvention, as the artisan will appreciate, so long as the disposition ofthe parts in question is maintained, and any and all such constructionalelements are contemplated herein just as if prolix enumeration thereofwere set forth in detail herein.

It will be appreciated that the instant specification and drawings areset forth by way of illustration and not limitation, and that variousmodifications and changes may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention which is to be limited only by thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Arrangement for constructing multispan bridges across water insuccessive spans mainly from heavy prefabricated elements, whichcomprises at least two longitudinally spaced apart transverse crossbeamssupported at the height at which the bridge is to be built, a pair oftransversely spaced apart longitudinal -auxiliary girders laterallyoutwardly resting on said crossbeams and spanning the longitudinaldistance therebetween, said auxiliary girders being longitudinallydisplacea-ble with respect to said crossbeams and having a lengthgreater than the longitudinal distance between said crossbeams toprovide corresponding cantilever free ends of said auxiliary girderslongitudinally extending substantially beyond said crossbeams, an islandplatform independently removably positioned in the water ahead of thecorresponding free ends of said auxiliary girders at a distancecorresponding to the next span to be constructed in the forwardlongitudinal direction of construction of the bridge, island crane meansand island support means disposed on said island platform, andindependently traveling bridge crane means disposed for longitudinaltravel on said auxiliary girders, whereby said free ends of theauxiliary girders may be drawn by said island crane means longitudinallyforward to said island support means for resting support thereon and inturn the remainder of said auxiliary girders advanced along saidcrossbeams, said bridge crane means may transport heavy prefabricatedpile, pier, crossbeam, m-ain bridge span girder and superstructureelements longitudinally along said auxiliary girders supported by saidisland support means for assembly below and for assembly laterallybetween said auxiliary girders, as the case may be, within the range ofconjunctive operation of said island crane means and said bridge cranemeans to provide the next span unit of the bridge, and upon displacinglongitudinally said removably positioned island platform in the forwarddirection of construction of the bridge a distance corresponding to thenext span, the drawing forward of said auxiliary girders and the bridgeassembly procedure may be repeated independently of weatherwater andterrain conditions.

Arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said crossbeams are providedwith lateral brackets at their ends which have roller mountings thereonin operative contact with said auxiliary girders to accommodate thelongitudinal displacement of said auxiliary girders with respect to saidcrossbeams while supporting said auxiliary girders thereon at a levelcorresponding substantially to that of the main bridge span girders yetlaterally outwardly thereof.

3. Arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said island support means isin the form of a pair of later-ally spaced apart transverselydisplaceable island brackets having hydraulic jack means thereon fortransversely alignable corresponding operative supporting contact withsaid free ends of the auxiliary girders.

4. Arrangement according to claim 3 wherein said island crane meansincludes a main derrick crane and a pair of laterally disposed jibcranes and said independently traveling bridge crane means includes apair of independently traveling portal cranes -arranged in tandem, eachspanning transversely the distance between said auxiliary girders andoperatively riding along said auxiliary girders which serve as trackstherefor.

5. Arrangement according to claim 4 wherein said auxiliary girders arein the form of box beam girders and said crossbeams are supported frombelow by corresponding bridge piers.

6. Method for constructing multi-span bridges across water in successivespans mainly from heavy prefabricated elements, which comprisesestablishing at least two longitudinally spaced apart transversecrossbeams supported at the height at which the bridge is to be built aswell as a pair of transversely spaced apart longitudinal auxiliarygirders laterally outwardly resting thereon and spanning thelongitudinal distance therebetween, such that said auxiliary girders arelongitudinally displaceable with respect to said crossbeams and have alength greater than the longitudinal dist-ance between said crossbeamsto provide corresponding cantilever free ends of said auxiliary girderslongitudinally extending substantially beyond said crossbeams, providingindependently travelling bridge crane means diposed for longitudinaltravel on said -auxiliary girders, maintaining an island platformindependently removably positioned in the water ahead of thecorresponding free ends of said auxiliary girders at a distancecorresponding to the next span to be constructed in the forwardlongitudinal direction of construction of the bridge with island cranemeans and island support means disposed thereon, drawing said free endsof the auxiliary girders by said island crane means longitudinallyforward to said island support means and placing said free ends inresting support thereon while advancing in turn the remainder of saidauxiliary girders -along said crossbeams, transporting by saidtravelling bridge crane means corresponding heavy prefabricated pile,pier, crossbeam, main bridge span girder and superstructure elementslongitudinally along said auxiliary girders while supported by saidisland support means, sinking said pile and pier elements at theappropriate bridge span distance to form supports for a correspondingcrossbeam element and mounting a crossbeam element on said pile and pierelements with the aid of said island crane means, laying correspondingmain bridge span girder and superstructure elements laterally betweensaid auxiliary girders and at substantially the same level thereof withthe aid of said travelling bridge crane means, and repeating saiddrawing, placing, transporting, sinking, mounting and laying steps atleast one more time, whereby to construct a multispan bridge acrosswater in successive spans.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,027,633 4/1962 Murphy 29-4293,055,090 9/1962 Murphy 29-200 3,299,191 1/1967 Mantscheff et al.29--429 X THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

U.S. C1. X.R. 141; 29-200

